Monday letters: Unemployment, Chris Christie, panhandling

Copyright 2014: Houston Chronicle

Published 6:56 pm, Friday, January 10, 2014

Jobs, jobs, jobs

Regarding "No. 1 job for House: Extend emergency unemployment aid" (Page B9, Wednesday), I agree with U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, that being unemployed can be very hard on families. That is why I liked it when President Obama said he was laser-focused on job creation. Jobs can be created by the government getting out of the way, such as by approving TransCanada Corp.'s proposed Keystone XL pipeline.

However, the reality is that most of the money Obama and the Democrats have spent did very little to create jobs or to reduce the causes of long- term unemployment.

By focusing on increasing the minimum wage, unemployment benefits and Obamacare, the Democrats have added significant burdens to workers and businesses and have dramatically increased the nation's debt and deficits to the point where we are no longer able to respond to future challenges.

A better plan is to give tax breaks to small businesses that create new jobs, provide easier access to small business loans, provide retraining tax credits to allow the long-term unemployed to gain new marketable skills and perhaps after-school activities to allow working parents to avoid daycare.

Each American's share of the federal debt is $50,000, and this is growing rapidly. We have to stop throwing good money after bad.

Pat Wetuski, Kingwood

Bridgegate

Regarding "Christie tries to mend bridges" (Page A1, Friday), my jaw dropped when I read the last paragraph of the story that says some legal experts don't see any basis for charges being brought in the New Jersey "Bridgegate" scandal.

It boggles my mind that anyone who misuses the authority of their government office to deliberately inflict misery and possibly more dire circumstances on political opponents shouldn't be legally punished in some fashion. A month or two in jail, a hefty fine and at least probation with loss of driving privileges for a year would seem very appropriate for Bridget Anne Kelly and the rest of her pals. At the very least, the Environmental Protection Agency should fine her big time for all the exhaust gases that were needlessly produced in the traffic jams she deliberately caused.

Roy Feaga, Sugar Land

Speech freedom

Regarding "Radack opposes ban on panhandling" (Page B1, Wednesday), is anyone in Harris County government giving consideration to the panhandlers' and solicitors' constitutional rights?

If I can stand in the median on Louetta Drive carrying a sign stating that my employer is unfair because $7.25 an hour is not a living wage, why can't a homeless man carry a sign saying he is hungry? We are both soliciting; he wants cash or a job, and I want higher pay.

The homeless person may step into the street to get a buck from a driver, but I would probably have taken many more steps crossing the street to the median, particularly if I stage my protest multiple times during the day.

And, on a related First Amendment issue, shouldn't freedom of the press be broad enough to apply to individuals passing out literature about their churches? I for one don't want government interfering with such activity unless there is a clear-cut public safety issue, and I don't think there is.